ENGLISH LITERATURE (CBSE/UGC NET)

Detailed explanation-1: -’The Solitary Reaper’ is a quintessentially Romantic poem in many respects: its ballad form, its focus on solitariness among nature (the girl is reaping in the fields of the wild highlands), and its emphasis on human emotion (’plaintive numbers’; ‘natural sorrow, loss, or pain’).

Detailed explanation-2: -Summary. In this poem, the poet (William Wordsworth) tells us about a girl, a Highland lass, who is in a field alone: “single in the field". As she is harvesting her crops, she is singing a sad tune which echoes in the deep valley. The speaker asks us to stop and listen to her tune or “gently pass".

Detailed explanation-3: -Behold her, single in the field, Yon solitary Highland Lass! The speaker opens this poem by directing our attention to a woman, “single in the field.” Now, “single” here has nothing to do with the woman’s relationship status. It means she’s out there in the field alone.

Detailed explanation-4: -The Solitary Reaper typically shows the sense of loneliness which is also permeated in many of his other works. The words of the reaper’s song are incomprehensible to the poet, so he is free to focus on the tone and speculate the content. The song generates in him a feeling of resonance.